Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Movie Review: Animals Among Us

There is a dangerous line between earnest low budget Bigfoot-horror movies done well and schlock that takes itself too seriously to be enjoyable. Animals Among Us, the new film from director John Woodruff and writer Jonathan Murphy rides that line a little too close sometimes but whatever minor issues it has are worth overlooking.

In Animals Among Us, a camp is set to reopen 15 years after two campers are killed, but something still lingers in the woods.

In a genre filled with SyFy channel schlock Animals Among us genuinely rises above and brings the audience something new. I personally hate phrases like “subverted expectations” because it is usually just pretentious pabulum, but this film REALLY DOES subvert expectations. This is a Bigfoot film that includes found footage (sparingly and with good reason) that includes a lot of meta references and comments that are done so well that it never takes you out of the film or feels forced.

Everything you want and expect from a good horror movie is there but done in a slightly different way. It is a genuinely original story and absolutely worth watching. I know that at this point I tell you that there are spoilers and all that but I am going to end the review here because anything I can say could ruin the experience. Just go see this movie and enjoy it, I guarantee you’ll enjoy it if you sit all the way through it.